Meddling Minutes
by DragonMPhantom
Summary: Dan secretly escapes the thermos, and is waiting for his perfect chance to kill Clockwork. One problem, before he gets the chance, he finds out that Clockwork's suicidal :S Medaling Minutes, Dan/Clockwork Slash
1. Chapter 1

I waited for him, perched like a raven, on a giant metal rod high above the gears of the tower. He never should have left in the first place. Maybe then he would have been able to stop my escape.

He walked in the front door, and made his way towards the screens. For the first time ever, I saw him take off the hood of his cloak. Long blue hair fell to his shoulders, which he quickly tied back into a ponytail. I was so entranced, I missed my perfect chance.

I shook my head to get the image of his beautiful hair out of my mind. I looked back to see him standing in front of the screens, as always. I was just about to jump down when he smacked his head against them and sighed.

I waited for a moment, to make sure I was hearing correctly. I was. He was quietly sobbing. For one slight second, I felt something oddly resembling pity. I pushed it away. I couldn't feel anything anymore, I was all ghost. Yet... So was Clockwork. Why was he crying?

Instead of jumping down to the ground, I slowly moved down the gears and other metal stuff along the walls of the tower, almost like a snake. I stopped halfway down, still looking down at Clockwork.

He turned around, leaning his back on screens. Dry tears still stained his face, and he crossed his arms like a pouting child. He slid to the floor and berried his face in his knees. "I can't do this anymore."

I moved further to the ground until I was only a few feet higher than him. He pulled an ecto gun from somewhere in his cloak and stared at it. I didn't know why, but I started to panic. He was going to kill himself!?

I had to do something, but I didn't want to let him know where I was. I took in a deep breath, and made my voice as echoey as possible, and softly whispered; "Clockwork..."

He looked up, startled. "Who...? Who's there?"

"What are you doing, Clockwork? Trying to kill yourself."

My voice finally sinked in and he glared at the thermos on a table not to far away. "Why would you care!?"

There was so much venom in his voice, it hurt a little. But, like always, I turned the emotion into anger. "If you die, won't the time line stop? What will happen to me then?"

He snorted, and looked down at the ground. "You'll still exist. You exist outside of time. The Observants will find someone to replace me, anyways."

He lifted the gun, about to soot himself. I didn't know what drew my to do it, but I tackled him. He screamed, we tumbled down the tower, and I ripped the gun out of his hands.

We landed on a platform, me pinning him down. He looked up at me, shocked and confused. "Are you absolutely crazy!" I threw the gun over the edge of the platform and grabbed his face. I didn't know why, but tears started to fall from my eyes. This wasn't me.

"D-Dan!? But you should be in the thermos! How did you...?" Tears started to well up in his eyes, too. "Why? Why would you save me?"

"I... Don't know." It was then that I noticed I was sitting on his hips, and moved off. I got up, then helped Clockwork up too. He was shaky, and leaned against my chest to stay up. I smiled. It felt good ; like he was meant to be there.

I wrapped an arm around his hip and floated us back up to the main platform and into Clockwork's room. It was average sized; blue purple and black decorated the room.

I placed him on the bed and placed the sheets over him. I was just about to leave when he wrapped his arms around my neck. "Wait. Please, don't leave me here alone."

I sat down next to him and layer my head down. I wasn't really tired, but there was something about the way he asked me to stay - like if I didn't, he would fall apart. I didn't know why I cared, but the thought of hurting him in any way... I should have just him kill himself! That's what I was going to do, anyway! C'mon, Dan, kill him already!

But all those thought left my mind as he snuggled into my chest, almost like a little kitten getting comfortable. I played around with his hair, taking it out of the elastic. It was soft, and caught the light perfectly.

As Clockwork fell asleep in my arms, I contemplated my actions. I was going to kill him. It was all part of my plan. I would kill Clockwork, then my younger self - since I now existed out of time and didn't need him to exist for me to exist, - then take over the world like I did before.

Clockwork snuggled closer to me, and I found myself wrapping an arm around him and pulling him closer. I was miserable when I took over the world. Everyone was scared of me, there was no one to talk to. I was lonely.

Maybe there was a reason I saved Clockwork. Maybe, without my knowing, I wanted to save him because he was the only one who was real with me. When everyone would tell me what I wanted to hear to save their lives, Clockwork told it to me straight.

I smiled. On top of that, he's pretty cute, I thought. Plus, since I existed out of time, he couldn't see my future. We were pretty evenly matched. I only ever thought I could kill him if I caught him by surprise. My life would always be entertaining with him as a boyfriend.

Just then, Clockwork stirred and looked up at me. His eyes were bloodshot from all the crying, but they showed nothing but gentleness. "How'd you get out?"

I smiled and started to play with his hair again. "The cap wasn't on tight. I kept going in circles can hitting it until it twisted off."

He was quiet, looking down at my chest instead of my eyes. "... Why... Why didn't you kill me? Or let me kill me?"

And there it was. I took a deep breath. This moment would determine my whole future. I thought of a thousand lies. 'Now you owe me' , 'I thought I wouldn't exist any more', but I went with the truth. I lifted his chin up with my hand and pressed my lips to his.

I thought he's be shocked, but he just moaned and melted into it. His eyes closed and for the first time ever, I saw him relax - like he actually trusted me. I laughed on the inside. If I would have known all it took to beat Clockwork and get his trust was a kiss...

We broke apart, and he half leaned on my chest and fell asleep. I smiled, and with the last thought of "this might be better than world domination," fell asleep too.

Okay, idk if I'm gonna make more chapters or leave it as a oneshot, so review and tell me your thoughts :)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I woke up, but didn't open my eyes. I was warm and comfortable. After years in the thermos, I was really enjoying it. I didn't know where I was, but I,didn't care. But then I felt something moving beside me, and froze. It was breathing. Someone was leaning on me. There was a quiet ticking sound, like that of a clock, and I slowly looked down at Clockwork.

For a moment, I felt happy. But I didn't. Because I couldn't feel emotions. Memories from yesterday filled my mind, and I sighed. Clockwork was one of the strongest ghosts in the ghost zone. Why would he try to kill himself? He wasn't weak. He wasn't stupid. He was... Clockwork. The master of time itself. He was the ghost who knew everything, past, present, and future.

I gently traced a finger around the case in his chest. He shivered, but didn't wake up. The clock ticked slowly, evenly. Yet each second was meaningless. I existed outside of time, and Clockwork didn't age. The only thing it was good for was keeping Clockwork alive.

The time ghost slowly stirred, and opened his eyes. He still looked tired. Even more tired than before we slept. "What's wrong?"

Clockwork smiled, and replied with a whispered "Nothing," before curling up closer to my body.

I sighed and pushed his shoulders back so I could look in his eyes. "Clockwork. What's. Wrong?"

He sighed, and looked down. "Time."

"What about it?" I asked.

He shook his head. "It's too much. I-I can't... No..."

"Clockwork, what's wrong with the time line?"

"I can't keep doing this. It's too much." He wasn't giving me a straight answer. Tears were falling from his eyes and wetting my suit, but I didn't care. I never thought I'd see the time master so... Broken.

I sat up and planted a soft hiss on his forehead. It felt weird, how we were moving so fast. Just yesterday I wanted to kill him. I sat up, and put the blanket back over him. "I'm going to get you something to eat, I'll be right back. Don't try anything."

He closed his eyes and snuggled deeper into the warm blankets. I took a quick glance around the room, making sure there was nothing he could use to hurt himself, then left.

I took a time medallion off the wall and headed for the human world. I phased into a food store, invisible. I didn't know what the time keeper liked, so I grabbed a bag and picked different foods.

I grabbed strawberries, carrots (mini ones), some chips, some chocolate, and two 2L boxes of different juices. I phased back out without paying and took the portal back into the ghost zone. I was lucky the Fentons were on vacation.

On my way back to the portal, I started wondering why I didn't kill any of the humans. It would have been so easy. I shook my head and told myself it was just to get back to Clockwork. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I was really worried for the time master. He was the only one who ever took a chance on me.

Finally the tower came into view and I walked in. I passed by the observatory room on the way to the bedroom and stopped when I saw Clockwork's staff. I peeked into the bedroom to see Clockwork safe and asleep. Slowly, I closed the door and walked back to the staff. I put down the food and picked up the staff.

I almost dropped it, but stopped myself. It felt alive. It was warm and was ticking like Clockwork's clock. I walked up to the screens and tried to see something. Nothing happened.

"You're not holding it right." I whipped around and saw Clockwork standing there. He had the blanket around his shoulders, the same way a sick human would hold the blanket around them. His hair was in every direction, in a tangle on knots. But worst of all was his eyes. He looked empty.

I just stood there as he walked up to me. Instead of taking his staff back, though, he moved my hands on it. He then guided my hand over the screen and back to the staff and a scene of a family having diner together was shown.

I laughed. "That's amazing."

Clockwork nodded and sat on the couch. I sat next to him and the screen went blank. "What's wrong?"

He kept staring at the ground, but spoke anyway. "It's just too much. Every day I stand here and watch time go by. I watch families get torn apart by stupid things - I watch innocent people get killed, - I watch things happen that hurt so many people... I just can't take it anymore. It's too much."

I expected more tears to come, but none did. It was like he was a shell of what he was before. I placed a hand on his shoulder. "I could help you."

He looked up at me and we stared into each others eyes. I stayed still while he searched to see if I was lying. He leaned closer to me, and our lips met. We closed our eyes, just enjoying each other. When we finally pulled away he asked, "really?"

I nodded. "Of course. You should't have to do it alone. I'll be right here with you."

finally put up chapter 2 ;)

it took for ever, cause I always like to write a few chapters ahead and because of all the school shopping and stuff lately I couldn't write much :S

P.S. I'm French so I start in 1 week, so for those first few days I might not upload. Oh, and if I made any spelling mistakes can y'all tell me? That's always what lowers my grade in English class, lol :)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It's been a few months now since I escaped the thermos. Clockwork was at the observatory being told to do some task by those stupid Observants. He'd probably have to work on the stupid task all night again. Sometimes I wished that I could learn how to alter time faster.

Right now I was in the "stop time" lesson. I could only stop time for about 5 minutes, and only in a small space. So when Clockwork was gone, like he was now, I just watched the timeline. Nothing seemed off, but still I watched.

I felt two hands cover my eyes. "Guess who."

I smiled at the familiar voice, and lightly picked up his hands. He placed his head on my shoulder and we watched the screen for a while. Finally I spoke up. "What did those stupid Observants want?"

He sighed. "It doesn't matter. I'll do it later."

"Clockwork, I-"

"Do you know what day it is?"

I sighed. He was changing the subject. "No. What day is it?"

He nibbled my ear and a shiver wheat down my spine. "Five months ago today, you stopped me from killing myself. And you kissed me for the first time."

I smiled. "Has it already been that long?"

He smiled too, and his hands traveled down to my hips. That's when I noticed he was pressed against me. "W-what are you doing?"

"What's it look like?"

I moaned and turned around, grabbing his wrists. "Clockwork? Are you sure?"

He smiled. "I have no idea what will happen next. I can't see your future, and because you're with me, I can't see mine either. And yet, I've never been more sure of anything in my whole afterlife."

And right then and there, I finally realized. I felt emotions when I was with Clockwork.

... And I liked it.

I held the Panting Clockwork in my arms, smiling. I ran my hands through his hair, still entranced by it's beauty. "That... Was amazing," Clockwork stated.

I pulled him closer to me. "Yes, it was."

We stayed there in silence for what seemed like forever, just enjoying each other's company. And that's when it happened. The door to the room opened to reveal a short observant holding an envelope.

The observant looked up, and we all froze. The one eyes freak was the first to move. He dropped the envelope, and ran out of the tower. Clockwork cursed, and jumped out of bed. He grabbed his cloak and wrapped it around himself before chasing after the observant.

I quickly put my pants back on then ran after him. I found him standing at the door watching the retreating observant with a horrified look. "Clockwork?"

"This is bad. This is really bad." He started passing back and forth, "What do we do? Dan, they'll kill you!"

I shook my head, "I'd like to see them try. Anyway, aren't they not aloud to do anything?"

"Watch ; Never Act," Clockwork said. "But they have guards. Dan, I can't loose you." He finally stopped pacing, and looked up at me.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer. "Relax, Clock. Everything'll be fine. Promise. We'll make it through this."

Clockwork sighed and placed his head on my shoulder. "We need a plan."

"You have another thermos?" I asked, as Clockwork pulled a new one out of his closet.

"I figured you might escape some day. So, I got prepared."

I nodded as he turned back to face me, and eyed the container skeptically. After so long being stuck in one of those things, I did NOT want to be shoved into a new one. But I knew Clockwork would let me out after the plan succeeded. It wouldn't be long. "You really think the Observants are going to just storm in here?"

Clockwork sighed. "You have no idea, Dan. They barge in for the stupidest things. Like that one did earlier, just to give me a letter."

I sighed. "You sure this'll work?"

He gave a reassuring smile. "C'mon, Dan. What could possibly go wrong?"

And with that, I was sucked into the Fenton thermos.

So here's where the story's about to turn lol :)

Please review and tell me what you think! :)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I felt Clockwork set the thermos back on the table, and heard the door slam open. "Clockwork!"

I heard Clockwork sigh and turn around. "Yes?"

"We were told that you let that evil ghost Dan out of the thermos to... Um..."

Even though I couldn't see it, I knew Clockwork rolled his eyes. "And who told you that?"

"One of the Observants that we sent to deliver a message. Clockwork, you're not trying to tell me that he lied to us, are you?"

"Of course not, sir. He just stretched the truth a bit. You see, I just returned to the tower to get started on that task you gave me, but I hit the table holding the thermos on the way to the screens. The thermos fell, so I picked it up, then went to change clothes because I had gotten something on it."

I smiled at the explanation. It had taken us a while to come up with the story, but it was worth it.

Clockwork continued. "Turns out the cap to the thermos was loose, and when it fell it became even more loose. So, when I was changing, he broke out and came to my room. He pushed me against my closet and kissed me. That's when the Observant came to give me the message, which I have yet to receive, by the way."

"Where is the ghost now!?"

Clockwork sighed. "Relax. I kept extra thermoses in my closet just in case. I think the real problem is to find out who didn't put the cap on tightly in the first place. Who put him back in the thermos after the trial?"

There was a swallowing sound, then the shaky sound of a new voice. "I- I put him back in, sir. I didn't realize I didn't put the top on tightly enough."

There was a long silence, then the first observant began to speak again. "Clo-"

He was cut off by a new voice. "No way! He's lying! I saw them! They were in bed, not against a wall! And Dan was holding Clockwork and they were just lying there! He's lying! They're together! I bet Dan's not even in that thermos!"

I thought now would be a good time to yell back. "You! I'd be free right now if you didn't distract me! Let me out of this stupid thing so I can rip him apart!"

There was a growl from the observant, and the sound of several feet moving towards the bedroom. A few minutes later, Clockwork walked back in, followed by the others. "Y-you guys are crazy."

"Crazy!? You're the one sleeping with the most evil ghost in the ghost zone!" Replied the first observant.

"He's not evil... Anymore."

For a moment, I felt panicked. They knew. Somehow there was a flaw in our plan and they found out. But, they wouldn't do anything to hurt Clockwork... Right?

Wrong. Those stupid green blobs broke their stupid never act rule. I heard the familiar sound of the Spectral Baramator heating up, heard it shoot, and "Clockwork!" But it was too late. Clockwork's scream of agony was forever burnt into my mind.

"W-what...?" Clockwork sounded so weak. Like the day he was going to kill himself. I was frozen, both physically and emotionally. Until, that is, they hit him again. This time his scream was weaker, but just as loud.

I started hitting against the top of the thermos. If I could just break free...

There was another scream. And another. Then the hard voice of the observant. "You've gone too far this time, Clockwork. You always think you can get away with it. You think you're all powerful because you control time. Well, guess what?" After each word he shot again. "We. Don't. Need. You!"

He kept shooting. Clockwork kept screaming. I kept ramming against the cap, trying to get to Clockwork. Slowly, his screams turned to whimpers. Only the soft, painful sounds Clockwork made and the sound of the Spectral Baramator being shot was heard. And it only made me try harder to break free.

Finally, the cap cracked and I broke free. Power was radiating off of me, illuminating the whole room. Four Observants looked up at me in fear. The fifth one, the one that was shooting Clockwork, aimed the Spectral Baramator at me. In one swift movement, I dodged the beam and shot an ecto-blast, knocking it out of his hands and across the floor. Instead of falling of the edge of the platform, it got wedged between two gears.

There was a soft sound, almost like a pained sigh, that came from my right. I looked down at Clockwork. He was on the ground, half curled up in a ball. Ectoplasm pooled around his body, and stained his ripped and burnt clothes. His cape covered most of him, but it wasn't hard to see that his case was badly damaged.

Anger so strong it could have melted an iceberg flowed through me. I turned to the cowering Observants. I focused on the one that told the rest of our relationship, and shot an ecto-blast at him. His painful scream awakened a sick twist in me. I loved to see him in pain. I shot again, and watched him fall to the ground.

One of the other Observants rushed up to him and tried to help him to his feat. Big mistake. He was shot a few feet away. I made sure my back faced Clockwork, and let loose a ghostly wail. They went flying, all in different directions. I grabbed two of the Observants I hadn't attacked with anything but the ghostly wail, and threw them over the platform. They each landed between gears and their screams echoed in the tower as the ectoplasm that was once their solid form fell into the seemingly endless depths of the tower.

I turned around and shot a long blast at the first observant I attacked, until he exploded into a pile of goop.

I picked up another observant and froze him before smashing him to the ground.

I looked around. There were five Observants, but I only killed four. It was hard to see, my eyes were glowing so much from my anger that all I saw was red. Movement to my right caught my eye. The observant that shot Clockwork was leaning against the gears, and had managed to free the Spectral Baramator.

He aimed it at me. I flew at him. But, he changed his target. My eyes widened as his smirk grew, and I watched in horror as he shot another blast at Clockwork. I picked up my pace, flying so fast I couldn't see what was happening. The silence after the hit was what unnerved me most. Even if he was unconscious, he should have at least made a whimper.

I finally made it to the Observant, who's triumphant smirk turned to a fearful stare. I grabbed his neck (or what would have been his neck. Really, they were only green blobs) and released power. There was a bright flash of light, and when it died down, I was on my knees. There was no sign of the observant.

I sat there for a while, awed by the lack of power. If I was still a Halfa, I'd be in my human form now.

It was done. The Observants were gone. Hopefully no more would come looking for their friends. I felt darkness start to take over me. Sweet unconsciousness was just a few seconds away. I smiled, and thought, 'No one will hurt Clockwork again.'

Clockwork! I realized with a start.

Yea, I ain't good with battle scenes :S I was going to do this differently, But I'm thinking of doing a sequel. But like, do a few more stories and merge them into one. I just don't like the Observants and want to call a war against them, lol :) please review ans tell me what you think :)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It felt like it took forever to crawl to Clockwork. I was kneeling in front of him - his ectoplasm soaking through my pants. I placed a shaky hand on his shoulder. "C-Clock...work?"

No response. I gave a little shake. Still nothing. I took off my shirt and wrapped it around his side, which seemed to have had the most damage. He was still bleeding too much. I moved a strand of hair from his face. My hands were still shaking, and I felt unconsciousness pulling at my mind.

"Clockwork? Clockwork!" No movement. No sound. His eyes weren't even moving behind the lids.

"No..." No, it couldn't be. He couldn't be. Not Clockwork... He couldn't fade. I-I... I loved him.

Yeah. That's right. I loved Clockwork. Emotions I hadn't felt since the death of my family suddenly broke through, but much worse. It felt like someone was clawing at my core. The massive wave of emotion, coupled with the oncoming unconsciousness, was too much.

I hung my head down in defeat. It was like dying all over again, but worse. I let instinct take over, and leaned my head on Clockwork's shoulder as my eyes slowly closed. One last thought left my mind as darkness took over. 'I hope I never wake up'.

I woke up to the even ticking of the Clocktower. It had become peaceful in the past months. But now, it just made tears fall from my eyes. My head was still on Clockwork's shoulder. I was surprised his body was still there. After a while, a 'dead' ghost's body faded and blended into the ghost zone.

I mentally sighed. We were in a building, so he wouldn't fade until someone brought him out of it. More tears fell at the thought of never seeing Clockwork again.

I sat there for who knows how long, listening to the different tick-tocks of the tower. Then... I heard it. Really quiet, but there. The soft ticking coming from Clockwork's case. If I had a heart, it would have stopped.

Slowly, I sat up and stared down at Clockwork's case. It was half full of ectoplasm, but I could still see the gears turning. With shaky hands, I opened the door to the case. The ectoplasm flowed out, and revealed the clock and gears. They were moving slowly, almost like they were fighting to turn, but the clock still quietly ticked.

New emotions flooded through me. I started laughing, a bit crazily. Tears fell from my eyes, and I felt like collapsing on the ground. He was still 'alive'. Clockwork still existed.

I got up and ran to Clockwork's room and grabbed all the towels and a couple water bottles. (Clockwork kept the water to clean the gears in the tower some times. It was special water that didn't rust metal). I ran back to Clockwork, placing all but one towel on the table that once held the thermos so they wouldn't get soaked in ectoplasm.

I kneeled in front of him, and slowly turned him on his back. Most of the ectoplasm had leaked out, but there was some places that had drying ectoplasm between the gears, making it harder for them to turn.

I opened the water bottle, ready to pour some in, when I noticed a crack in the back of the case. Ectoplasm was slowly oozing through it. I bit my lip and put the bottle on the ground. It probably wasn't a good idea to get that stuff in his body. I slowly placed a finger on it, and for the first time in years, used my ice powers to freeze the area.

Once I was sure no water would pass through, I slowly poured some over the gears. There was a sizzling sound, and smoke started to rise, making me panic. But, on closer inspection, I noticed it was burning away the ectoplasm, leaving shiny silver in it's wake. It didn't take long for all the ectoplasm do disappear, and there was nothing but a puddle of greenish water at the bottom. I picked up the towel and absorbed the liquid until the case was dry.

I listened. The ticking was louder than it had been, but still not how it normally was. Slowly, I closed the case door and looked at his face. Still nothing. His side was still bleeding, but not as bad as before. I decided I should still wrap it. We didn't have any medical supplies, so I went to grab my cape.

It wasn't on my shoulders. For a moment, I was confused. Where...?

I got up and walked to the bedroom again, and found it on the bed. On top of the cape, was one of Clockwork's wrist watches. I bit my lip as I realized that must have been how they found out. I grabbed both items and went back to clockwork.

It wasn't hard to remove his shirt - it was practically torn to pieces, anyway. The hard part was wrapping his side, but not covering his case. Finally, though, I managed to somewhat wrap it. At least it wasn't allowing the loss of any more ectoplasm.

I then lifted his wrist, and saw two clocks. I put the third one in it's rightful place. There was a sigh, and I looked down at Clockwork. His eyes were unfocused and barely open, and he had a small smile. His eyes then closed and he fell asleep.

A single happy tear ran down my face as I lightly picked him up and put him on the couch to rest.

Yay Clockwork's not dead! :)

Please review and tell me what you think ;)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It took a few days before Clockwork opened his eyes again. I was sitting on the other side of the couch, watching the time line on the screens. I heard a groan, and turned to see Clockwork with a pained look on his face.

I sat on the floor near his head and moved his hair out of the way. It was pretty messed up - cut in odd places and burnt in others from the Spectral Baramator. Clockwork opened his eyes again and looked at me.

I smiled, and he smiled back. "D-Dan..."

His voice was only a whisper, but it was his voice, none-the-less. "Hey Clockwork. You okay?"

"Yes..."

I sighed, and held back a sob. "You scared me. I thought you... Were gone..."

He tried to raise his hand, but gasped in pain. "Clockwork!" He stopped moving, and I slowly picked up his hand for him. "You shouldn't move yet. You were hurt pretty badly."

"Where...? The... Observants?" He asked, closing his eyes.

"It's okay, Clockwork. They're gone. I killed them."

He looked up at me, shocked for a moment. "You actually... Killes 'em?" Then he looked terrified, "the thousandssssss of 'em... Ey'll com'n kill us."

I smiled as his words were beginning to jumble together, and his eyes slowly closed. "Don't worry, Clockwork. I'll kill them all if I have to."

It only took about two weeks for Clockwork to heal sufficiently. He could now sit up by himself, and could walk with a little help. His side had almost completely healed, along with the glass door to his case. What hurt him the most now was the crack in the back of the case.

I had taken a look at it when he was asleep, and saw it hadn't even begun to heal yet. I was beginning to worry. He couldn't even walk more than few steps without getting a sharp pain and collapsing.

And to top it all off, was the day I found the note. I had left Clockwork asleep on the couch again, and went to the kitchen to get a snack. When I got back, there was a single piece of paper on the coffee table that wasn't there before.

I had looked around franticly, letting my ghost sense search the tower. But there was no one there. No one in the shadows. Slowly, I picked up the note.

Dear Dan,

You don't know me, but Clockwork does. I'm an old friend of his.

I left this note as a warning, and to give you choices. In three days from today, at the human world's dusk, the Observants will come to the tower. Do what you will with this information. I strongly suggest you flee - not just the tower, but the ghost zone in general. They'll find you if you stay in the ghost zone. You can also face them if you want, but I think it only fair to warn you that there are over ten thousand of them, and much stronger than those you've already killed. If you need someplace to stay, tell Clockwork my place is always open.

~DG

And so, as I sat today, two days after the note was received, I wondered. Clockwork was still really hurt, and couldn't make it alone. Maybe I could carry him, but I didn't know where I was going. Clockwork passed out from pain too much and... 'We'd never make it'

Screams. There were anguishing screams. Mine and Clockworks.

Pain. So much pain. I would have blacked out if it wasn't for Clockwork beside me.

Green. Everywhere there was green. They were all around us. Killing us. We were in a pool of our own ectoplasm. Clockwork's hand wrapped around mine, but not too tightly. His screams were different...

He was saying something. The battle cries of the Observants made it too hard to make out what he was saying.

I tried to ignore it. Ignore the Observants, ignore the pain I felt, ignore the anguish in Clockwork's screams. I just wanted to hear what he had to say before we faded.

"Dan? ... Dan! Urgh!" His voice became echoey, and my vision blurred. The only thing that didn't seem to be affected was Clockwork's hand in mine.

Suddenly, it all collapsed. Like a thine sheet of glass smashing to the ground, the visions of the Observants disappeared in millions of pieces, and I shot up in a sitting position, panting and sweating heavily.

"Dan!?" I looked to my right where Clockwork was holding my hand and had a concerned look on his face despite the obvious pain behind them. "Dan, it's okay. It was just a dream."

We sat there for a while, then I got out of bed. "Dan? What are you doing?"

"What can't you live without?" I asked, grabbing one of his many outfits from the closet and wrapped it in a spare cape.

"Dan?"

"We're leaving. What do you need?"

"Why are we leaving?" He asked.

"The Observants. They'll come and kill us."

"Dan, if they haven't come yet, we're safe."

I shook my head, "I don't know. They'll come eventually, and when they do they'll kill us." There was a long silence before I spoke again. "Clockwork, we've got to go. Let's face it. The crack in your case isn't getting any better. You need help."

I looked up and Clockwork and I locked eyes. They had that same calculating nature they had before I escaped. "Where are we going?"

I sighed and pulled out the note. "Do you know a ghost, DG? He says he's your friend."

Clockwork smiled. "Of course she'd leave you a note."

I tilted my head. "She? Who is she?"

Clockwork gave a little laugh. "She's our only escape."

I was so tired. Even being a ghost, Clockwork was beginning to feel heavy in my arms. I looked down at his curled up form. His head was against my chest, the ball of clothes on his stomach, and even though he was asleep he held on to his staff for dear life.

I felt my eyes start to feel heavy, and this time couldn't stop them from closing. Slowly, I opened them again. I've been flying us through the ghost zone for hours, and I felt like collapsing. There was no land in sight, not even the familiar purple doors - let alone a portal to the real world.

I started to wonder if fading would really be that bad as I slowly floated downwards from tiredness. We'd be running for the rest of our after lives anyway. Maybe fading would lead us somewhere better? Where we didn't have to run and no one would hate us for being together? Where no Observants would try to destroy us or give Clockwork hours of stupid tasks...

I hadn't realized my eyes were nearly closed again until I saw movement ahead and snapped them open. Normally, I would have stopped flying, but I was already going so slow, and I was afraid if I stopped and lost momentum I wouldn't be able to start again.

The black figure in the distance grew bigger, until I could make out the shape of a giant black dragon. I searched in my old memories and remembered he was Aragon. I didn't know what to feel with that knowledge, and I was honestly too tired to care.

The dragon flew under us and back, placing me in a sitting position on his neck. I couldn't even question what was going on as my eyes shut, and my last thought was to not let go of Clockwork.

please comment :)


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I woke up when the dragon growled. I opened my eyes and saw a huge purple eye staring at me. I held Clockwork tighter, ready to protect him from the attack Aragon was sure to dish out.

But instead, he motioned with his head. I looked ahead of us to where he motioned, and saw a swirling green portal. It wasn't the Fenton's, and it wasn't Vlad's either.

I looked around, trying to remember any part of this area of the ghost zone, but there was nothing around but swirling green. The dragon growled again, but this time I realized it was more of an annoyed growl than a menacing one.

I slowly floated off of the dragon, holding Clockwork tightly. The dragon motioned to the portal one last time before flying off into the distance. I looked down at Clockwork, who was slowly waking up.

He looked around until he saw the portal and smiled. "We made it."

I smiled too. Cautiously, I made my way through the portal. On the other side was a dark room. It looked like it was once a lab. Metal coated the walls, and there were also metal tables. But nothing in the room looked like it would be part of a lab. Different coloured inks were scattered everywhere, some even tipped over and leaked on the floor. Papers were all over as though a window was left open during a tornado. But there were no windows. Only the soft glow from the portal illuminated the room.

Suddenly, a few feet in front of me, the shadows grew thicker, as though it was a mist of fog that was suddenly growing thick.

I took a step back, but Clockwork put a hand on my chest and I stopped. I looked down and saw a reassuring smile. "It's okay," he said.

I looked back up at the shadows as they formed the shadow of a person, and two purple eyes stared at us. "I'm glad you made the right decision," the figure said. It was the voice of a girl, but it sounded kinda raspy. Despite that, the voice was almost calming.

The shadow's hand lifted, and before I could do so much as blink, I collapsed on the ground, asleep.

When I woke up, Clockwork was in my arms. We were in a bed, much like the one in Clockwork's tower, but the sheets were a dark blue with grey gears all over them. I looked over Clockwork, and saw two black curtains hiding the outside world. The bed was against a wall, and on the opposite wall was a desk with different gears, clocks, and half built projects, along with a small TV. My back was facing the wall with the closet and door.

I gently shook Clockwork until he opened an eye. "Clockwork, do you know where we are?"

Clockwork rolled onto his back, face distorted in pain for a moment. He looked around for a moment before a smile graced his face. "You didn't change it at all, did you, Sel?"

The voice from before answered, "Nope. It's just the way you left it."

I looked around for the source of the voice, but there was no one there. Clockwork chuckled when he saw my confusion. "Sel, have you met Dan?"

A figure appeared out of the shadows at the end of the bed. "No, I don't believe I have." She had curly black hair that just passed her shoulders. Her eyes were purple, almost glowing like a ghost's. Her purple shirt's sleeves covered her hands, and it was held together by a black pin of the moon. It looked like she was wearing a purple skirt, but dark shadows seemed to float around her. "Hey, Dan. I'm Sel, Ghost of Darkness."

My eyes grew big. "You? The ghost of darkness? But you don't look like a ghost."

She smiled. "No, I'm actually a Halfa. I'm just more ghost than human. Long story."

Again, I stared at her. "But, you don't look evil."

She sighed, her smile dropping. "Darkness doesn't always mean evil, Just as Light does not always bring good" (Little twist to a quote from the House Of Night Books ;D)

Clockwork chuckled. "She's an old friend of mine. I met her as a kid when I was playing with Nocturne and we got lost. She was a friend of Dusk's so when we didn't make it home on time he asked her to come find us."

Sel laughed. "Yeah, those were the days. Clockwise was pretty ticked, though."

"Clockwise?" I asked.

"Clockwise was my master," Clockwork explained. "He never liked Sel. She's from a different planet, so Clockwise and I can't see her in the timeline. He's always afraid she's gonna mess it up."

"Like I'd do such a thing," Sel said, rolling her eyes. She walked to the side of the bed Clockwork was on. "You okay?"

Clockwork nodded. I finally snapped out of my awestruck funk and narrowed my eyes. "You are not! He's got a crack in the back of his case, and it isn't healing. "

Sel bit her lip before gently opening Clockwork's case door and looked at the crack. "That can't be good."

"Do you have something that can help?" I asked, keeping my eyes on her every movement. To be honest, I didn't trust her yet, even though Clockwork did.

"I don't know... Maybe. I'll go check. Wanna come with me, Dan?" She asked, closing the door to the case. "Glimmer!" A small golden lizard with wings (or maybe a mini dragon?) appeared out of thin air. It grabbed the remote off the TV and dropped it beside Clockwork with a content little "chirp!".

Sel helped Clockwork sit up a little, and placed pillows by his back so he could lean back comfortably. The lizard named Glimmer landed on Clockwork's lap and curled in a ball, as if it was perfectly content sitting there watching TV and wouldn't move for the world. "Wow, you got big, didn't you? Do you remember me?"

I watched as Clockwork gently traced a finger down Glimmer's spine, and it replied with a little "chirp!" He laughed and turned on the TV.

I left the room with Sel, following her down the stairs and to a room and watched her search for something. "So... You're the ghost of darkness?" I asked, breaking the silence.

She kept searching when she replied, "Yep. And you're dating the master of Time."

I nodded. "You just... Don't seem like I thought you'd be."

She looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. "And how did you think I'd be?"

I looked at the ground, a bit nervous. "I don't know. Just not... You seem so nice."

She turned and leaned an elbow on the desk she was rummaging through. "You thought I'd be mean?"

"No, it's just... I don't understand. Shouldn't you be evil? I mean, you're the ghost of darkness, and I heard most of the people you associate with are evil."

She sighed, an annoyed look plastered on her face. "Do you want to know why I'm friends with so many evil people?" She took my silence as a sign to continue. "Because the evil people don't care. They don't care that I'm from another planet. They don't care that I'm the ghost of darkness. They don't care that I'm part human. When it comes down to it, I can be friends with them knowing they're there for me and not what I am. They're not my friends because I'm powerful, or because I can travel through time. They accept me where people like Clockwise try to destroy me because they're scared of what I might do."

I stood there in silence for a moment, contemplating her answer. Guilt started to surface in me when I realized I was being skeptical towards her for the same reasons she just explained. And it was true. When I was evil, I probably would have became her friend right away. She seemed okay. But now... "I'm sorry."

She shook her head and kept rummaging through some stuff. "It's okay. I'm used to it now."

I tried to change the conversation. "How'd you become the ghost of Darkness anyway?"

"Darkness is like evil people. It doesn't care about all that stuff. It just cares about you. It was there in my time of need, and so I became the ghost of darkness."

There was more silence before she suddenly said, "Found it!"

"Found what?" I asked, moving to sand beside her.

She held up a tube of some sort of medical cream, but the writing was definitely not English. "And if this doesn't work, there's always this tube of glue," she said, picking up a tube of glue and flashing me a smile before walking out the door and back to Clockwork.

I shook my head at her weird joke and followed her in. "Hey Clock! Whatcha watching?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You're in a really good mood."

"Full moon tonight!" She said, setting the tubes on the bed beside Clockwork. "I found some quick healing medical... Somethin' and a tube of glue. You pick."

"A tube of glue? Really?" He asked.

Sel laughed. "Okay then, medical whatnot it is."

Reference to The House Of Night (I changed the quote a bit ;))

Glimmer is based off of fire lizards from The Dragonriders Of Pern

Dusk and Clockwise are xwocketx's I just loved them so much I had to put them in my story :) so I mentioned them. They'll be in the sequel. Y'all should totally check 'em out on Deviantart :)

And so sorry I'm so late :( first week of school and a lot to handle


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Me and Clockwork sat on the roof of the giant house which was Sel's. It was in the middle of nowhere, so there was nothing but trees for miles. The full moon shun off the leaves, making them almost seem to glow.

Clockwork's back snuggled closer to my chest and he looked up at me. We stared into each other's red eyes until we slowly leaned in for a kiss. It was sweet, and reminded me of the good times spent in the tower.

True, I would miss the tower, but this place was pretty good, too. It was huge, and Sel was letting us pick any room to decorate it as our own. Because Sel was from another planet, neither the Observants, nor Clockwork's master Clockwise, could see time where she was. As long as we stayed here, they couldn't find us.

That didn't hide the fact, though, that eventually we'd have to face the Observants. We couldn't hide forever, and we couldn't rely on Sel forever. But for now, we were safe. The cream was healing Clockwork's case quickly, and for the moment, we had all the time in the world to come up with a plan.

Clockwork slowly started to drift asleep in my arms. I pulled him tighter as a cold gust of wind made his shiver. Dark shadows began to surround us. I was a little nervous still, but didn't panic. The tendrils of darkness wrapped around us, shielding us from the wind and giving us warmth. I smiled. "Thanks, Sel."

There was a little "chirp!" as Glimmer, (who is apparently a fire lizard from the planet Pern) landed on Clockwork's lap and curled up in a little ball like a cat. We fell asleep like that, and I woke up again to a soft ticking.

I opened my eyes, confirming we were not in the ClockTower. The ticking was coming from the night stand, and I leaned over to see two notes - one for me, one for Clockwork.

The one for Clockwork read,

Hey Clock! Thought you might get a little homesick so I put a bunch of things that tick in the room to make it sound kinda like your tower.

~Sel

And the one for me read,

Dan, when you wake up, can you please put some more of that cream on Clockwork's case's crack? It should be almost healed, that stuff works really fast.

After that when you're both awake feel free to come down for breakfast. I'll make you whatever you want as long as it doesn't have meat.

~Sel

I smiled and did as the note said. Clockwork opened his eyes as I was applying the cream, and I leaned down to kiss him. It was so weird how my opinion of him changed so much in so little time. Clockwork wasn't weak. He wasn't stupid. He was... Clockwork. Just Clockwork. My Clockwork.

The End!

The sequel will be called Start Of A Revolution. It'll take me a while to post it because I still don't have a plot yet :S

Ps, it will be Meddling Minutes and Pompous Pep, a sequel to this story and Changing the past. You don't have to read Changing the past to understand the story, though.

So yea. Hope y'all like the somewhat-ending and I hope y'all read and enjoy the sequel :)


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